Saskatoon

Saskatoon men appear in Men with Cats fundraising calendar

Twelve of Saskatoon's male cat-lovers have lent their smiles to appear in the pages of a calendar fundraising for the SCAT Street Cat Rescue.

Shahan Fancy and Mike Tory were dog people until cats padded into their lives

Mike Tory holds Khaleesi for the Men With Cats fundraising calendar for SCAT Street Cat Rescue. (Erin McFarland/High Four Pet Photography)

Twelve of Saskatoon's male cat-lovers are posing with pint-sized felines for the Men with Cats fundraising calendar.

Every year, SCAT Street Cat Rescue recruits a dozen of the city's men to be photographed with kittens from the shelter. 

Money raised from the calendars goes towards helping some 300 cats every year. 

Mike Tory and Shahan Fancy are among the cat-loving men who agreed to be photographed. Fancy appears with a kitten named Griz, while Tory was paired with Khaleesi. 

Fancy, who was photographed for the month of March, said he was a "dog person" until Peanut trotted into his life 14 years ago. 

Shahan Fancy gets to know SCAT rescue kitten, Griz. (Erin McFarland/High Four Pet Photography)

"He sort of changed my whole feeling on cats because he taught me a lot about unconditional love and, of course, companionship," said Fancy.

"But most importantly, strategic negotiation and manipulation, like many good cats."

Jokes aside, Fancy said his cat was always there for him and Peanut was a treasured companion. 

Tory, who was photographed for the month of October, is the owner of a former barn cat called Jam Jam and an orange cat named Blue.

Also a former dog person, he wanted to contribute to the shelter's efforts to care for the shelter cats, which he noted were not always kittens. 

"I also help out as much as I can with other charities to do with us humans, but the chance to help the cats was a pretty cool thing, and fun," he said. 

With files from CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning